KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Senior outfielder Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) picked a very good time for his first home run of the year on Saturday, as his three-run blast in the top of the seventh inning proved to be the game-winner in a 4-3 win for the Northern Illinois University baseball team over the Western Michigan Broncos at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.

"It was a well-played game by both sides," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "When you're playing a good team, sometimes it comes down to a play or two, a swing or two, a pitch or two  and Eric and Adam [Brouwer] found a way to help us get a win."

NIU (18-32, 11-15 MAC) trailed 3-1 going into the seventh. Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) started the rally with a one-out single to right field. Western Michigan pitcher Nolan Vlcek struck out pinch-hitter Nick Varon (Palatine, Ill./Southwestern Illinois College) for the second out of the inning. Spencer Bartel (Sun Prairie, Wis./Madison College) kept the inning alive with a base hit to left center, getting Cohn to third. Erato then smashed the first pitch from Vlcek over the right centerfield fence for a three-run home run that put the Huskies up 4-3.

"Eric does a lot of things well on the baseball field," Copeland said. "He played three different positions today. For him to be rewarded with a moment like that, it's really deserving. He's a guy that's been through a lot in our program and to go out towards the end of the season and hit a game-winning home run is really special for him."

Western Michigan (26-20, 16-10 MAC) had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Brendan Harrity led off with a double down the right field line. Adam Brouwer (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) struck out Grady Mee for the first out, his sixth strikeout of the game. Jackson Kitchen put down a sacrifice bunt to move Harrity to third base with two outs. Cade Sullivan ripped a line drive right back at Brouwer for the final out of the frame.

NIU's bullpen took over from there. Reagan Klawiter (Verona, Wis./Madison College) retired the first two batters of the bottom of the eighth, turning the ball over to Sam Pederson (Verona, Wis./McHenry CC) for the final out. Pederson retired the side in the ninth, getting a strikeout and a pair of groundouts to lock up his second save of the season and a 4-3 win for NIU.

"We had Reagan ready for the two lefties in the middle of their order, and he pounded the strike zone and got them both out," Copeland said. "Then Sam came in and did what he's done all year which is throw that slider away to righties and made it really challenging for them to get a good look."

Western Michigan opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Brouwer retired the first two Broncos he faced. Dylan Nevar then stepped up to the plate and hit a home run to give Western Michigan a 1-0 lead. Brouwer bounced back with a strikeout of CJ Richmond to end the inning.

NIU got on the board in the top of the third with a pair of two-out hits. Erato reached on a double for the Huskies' first hit of the game. Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) drove Erato in with a base hit to left field to tie the game at 1-1. The Broncos took back the lead with a Greg Budig home run in the fourth, followed by a Kitchen leadoff home run in the fifth that put Western Michigan up 3-1. Brouwer retired nine of the next 10 Broncos he faced after the Kitchen home run.

"He dominated a really good offense today, for the most part," said Copeland about NIU's starting pitcher. "When you have a good start like that, there's always a couple pitches through out the game especially if you go deep into the game, that determine whether or not you can survive. The second inning was big to get out of that. When we took the lead in the seventh, they got the double to lead it off and he essentially takes the game in his own hands. It just felt like we wasn't going to let us lose that game."

Brouwer allowed three runs on eight hits in seven innings, with just one walk against six strikeouts. It was the redshirt-sophomore's fourth straight start of at least seven innings and three runs or less, all of which were wins. Brouwer is 7-1 in Mid-American Conference play this season with a 2.84 earned run average.

NIU and Western Michigan wrap up this weekend's series on Sunday, May 12 at 12 p.m. CT.

—NIU—